Jeff Hardy
Jeffrey "Jeff" Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, currently not signed to any company. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWE). Before gaining prominence in WWE, Hardy performed for the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA), a promotion he ran with his brother Matt. After being signed by WWE, the brothers worked as jobbers, before gaining notoriety in the tag team division, partly due to their participation in Tables, Ladders, and Chairs matches. With the addition of Lita, the team became known as Team Xtreme and continued to rise in popularity. As a tag team wrestler, Hardy is a five-time World Tag Team Champion, a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion and a one-time WCW Tag Team Champion. Hardy has also experienced success as a singles wrestler and is a three-time world champion, having held the ECW Championship once and the WWE Championship twice, a four-time Intercontinental Champion, and has held the Light Heavyweight, and European Championships once each. He is also a former Hardcore Champion, having held the championship on three occasions. He received his first major main event push towards the end of 2006. Moreover, Hardy is involved in motocross, music, painting, and other artistic endeavors. He is currently a member of the band Peroxwhy?gen. Early Life Hardy is the son of Gilbert and Ruby Moore Hardy, and the younger brother of Matt. Their mother died of brain cancer in 1986, when Hardy was nine. He developed an interest in motocross aged 12 and got his first bike, a Yamaha YZ-80, at age 13. He had his first race when he was in ninth grade. Hardy played baseball as a child, but had to stop after he crashed during a motocross race, injuring his arm. He also played football during high school as a fullback and linebacker. He briefly competed in amateur wrestling in high school. He had to stop playing sports in high school, after he was ordered to pick between professional wrestling and playing sports, and he chose wrestling. Hardy's favorite subjects in school were U.S. history and art, which he did for extra credit. Professional Wrestling Career Early Career Hardy cites Sting, The Ultimate Warrior, and Shawn Michaels as his childhood inspirations to wrestle. Hardy had been on World Wrestling Federation (WWF) television as a jobber—a wrestler who consistently loses to make his opponents look stronger—as early as age sixteen. His first WWF match was against Razor Ramon on May 24, 1994. The next day he wrestled against The 1-2-3 Kid], and the match aired on the June 25 episode of Superstars. He occasionally wrestled as a jobber as late as 1997 before beginning his first major run in 1998. Hardy, along with his brother Hardy|Matt] and friends, started their own federation, the Trampoline Wrestling Federation (TWF) and mimicked the moves they saw on television. Later on, the TWF went under several different names, eventually being integrated into a county fair in North Carolina. The brothers and their friends then began to work for other independent companies. They drove all over the East Coast of the United States, working for companies such as ACW and other small promotions. Before arriving in the WWF, Matt formed his own wrestling promotion, the Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts (OMEGA) with Thomas Simpson. The promotion was a more successful version of the original TWF and included talent such as both Hardy brothers, Shannon Moore, Gregory Helms, Joey Matthews, and Steve Corino, among others. In OMEGA, each of the brothers portrayed several different characters; Hardy portrayed such characters as Willow the Wisp, Iceman, Mean Jimmy Jack Tomkins, and The Masked Mountain. While there, Hardy held the New Frontier Championship as a singles competitor and the Tag Team Championship with Matt. The promotion folded in April 1998 when they signed contracts with the WWF. World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment The Hardy Boyz (1998–2002) in 2000.]] The Hardy brothers eventually caught the eyes of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). After being signed to a contract in 1998, they were trained by Dory Funk, Jr. in his Funkin' Dojo with other notable wrestlers such as Kurt Angle, Christian Cage, Test, and A-Train. When the team was finally brought up to WWF television, after months of 'jobbing' and live events, they formed the acrobatic tag team called the Hardy Boyz. While feuding with The Brood in mid-1999, they added Michael Hayes as their manager. On July 5, they won their first WWF Tag Team Championship by defeating the Acolytes, but lost it back to them a month later. After the dissolution of the Brood, the Hardys joined forces with Gangrel as The New Brood and feuded with Edge and Christian. This stable did not last long, however, and on October 17, 1999 at No Mercy, the Hardy Boyz won the managerial services of Terri Runnels in the finals of the Terri Invitational Tournament in the WWF's first ever tag team ladder match against Edge and Christian. In 2000, the Hardy Boyz found a new manager in their real-life friend Lita. Together, the three became known as "Team Xtreme". They continued their feud with Edge and Christian throughout 2000, defeating them for the WWF Tag Team Championship on two occasions. At SummerSlam the Hardy Boyz competed in the first ever Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match (TLC match), for the Tag Team Championship against the Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian, but were unsuccessful. Hardy gained attention for his high risk stunts in the TLC matches in the year 2000, 2001,[ and 2002. He made a name for himself as one of the most seemingly reckless and unorthodox WWF performers of his time. In 2001, Hardy received a push as a singles competitor, and he held the WWF Intercontinental (defeating Triple H), Light Heavyweight (defeating Jerry Lynn) and Hardcore Championships (defeating Mike Awesome and Van Dam on two separate occasions). At the end of 2001, the Hardys began a storyline in which they began to fight, which led to Matt demanding a match at Vengeance, with Lita as the special guest referee. After Hardy beat Matt at Vengeance, while Matt's foot was on the ropes, Hardy and Lita began feuding against Matt. In the middle of the feud, however, Hardy faced The Undertaker in a Hardcore Championship match and lost. After the match, the Undertaker was scripted to attack both Hardy and Lita, injuring them. On the next episode of SmackDown!, the Undertaker also attacked Matt, also injuring him, in storyline. The Hardys and Lita were not seen again until the Royal Rumble, because WWE did not have another storyline for their characters. The Hardys later came back as a team, and there was never any mention of their previous storyline split. In early April 2002, the Hardy Boyz began a feud with Brock Lesnar after Lesnar gave Matt an F-5 on the steel entrance ramp, which led to an angered Hardy seeking revenge on Lesnar. At Backlash, Hardy faced-off against Lesnar in his first televised match. Lesnar dominated Hardy and won the match by knockout. Lesnar and the Hardys continued to feud over the next few weeks, with the Hardys coming out victorious only once by disqualification. At Judgment Day, Lesnar gained the upper hand on the Hardy Boyz before tagging his partner, Paul Heyman, in to claim the win for the team. In July 2002, Hardy won his third Hardcore Championship by defeating Bradshaw. Singles competition (2002–2003) After years in the tag team division, Hardy took on The Undertaker in a ladder match for the Undisputed Championship. Hardy came up short, but earned the Undertaker's respect. Hardy competed for singles titles on several occasions and defeated William Regal for the European Championship. Hardy was defeated a few weeks later by Rob Van Dam in a match to unify the European Championship and the Intercontinental Championship, and the European Championship was dropped. Finally, the Hardy Boyz split apart, as Hardy continued to pursue his singles ambitions on Raw and his brother, Matt was drafted to the SmackDown! brand. In January 2003, he briefly turned into a heel (villain) after he attacked Van Dam and Shawn Michaels. It ended a month later when he saved Stacy Keibler from an attack by then-villain, Christian. In February, he had a brief program with Michaels, which saw the two team up. Then, in storyline, Hardy began dating Trish Stratus after saving her from Steven Richards and Victoria in March. Hardy and Stratus had a brief on-screen relationship that saw the duo talking backstage, kissing, and teaming together in matches. Hardy, however, was released from WWE on April 22, 2003. The reasons given for the release were Hardy's erratic behavior, drug use, refusal to go to rehab, deteriorating ring performance, as well as constant tardiness and no-showing events. Hardy also cites "burn out" and the need for time off as reasons for leaving WWE. Time off and independent circuit (2003) Hardy made his first wrestling appearance after being released from WWE at an OMEGA show, on May 24. Using his old gimmick, "Willow the Wisp", Hardy challenged Krazy K for the OMEGA Cruiserweight Championship, but lost the match. Hardy performed with the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion on one occasion. Hardy appeared at ROH's 2003 show, Death Before Dishonor, under his "Willow the Wisp" gimmick, wearing a mask and trench coat. Hardy was quickly unmasked and lost his jacket, wearing attire similar to that he wore in WWE. Hardy was booed and heckled before, during, and after the match by the ROH audience, who chanted "We want Matt!" and "You were fired!" during his match with Joey Matthews and Krazy K, which Hardy won. Hardy then took a whole year off of wrestling to concentrate on motocross and finish his motocross track. Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2004–2006) Hardy debuted in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) on June 23, 2004, at the Second Anniversary Show, in a match against TNA X Division Champion A.J. Styles, for the title. He also debuted his new entrance theme "Modest", a song performed by Hardy himself, and a new nickname, "The Charismatic Enigma". The match ended in a no contest when Kid Kash and Dallas interfered. Hardy returned to TNA on July 21 and was awarded a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy challenged for the title on September 8, losing to NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett. In October 2004, he won a tournament, earning a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on November 7 at Victory Road, TNA's first monthly pay-per-view. Hardy was defeated by Jarrett once again in a ladder match at Victory Road following interference from Kevin Nash and Scott Hall. One month later at Turning Point, Hardy, Styles and Randy Savage defeated Jarrett, Hall and Nash (collectively known as the Kings of Wrestling). Hardy went on to defeat Hall in a singles match, substituting for Héctor Garza at Final Resolution on January 16, 2005. At Against All Odds in February 2005, Hardy lost to Abyss in a "Full Metal Mayhem" match for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hardy returned the favor by defeating Abyss in a Falls Count Anywhere match at Destination X in March. Hardy then went on to feud with Raven, with Hardy booked to defeat Raven in a steel cage match at Lockdown in April. Hardy was suspended from TNA after no-showing his "Clockwork Orange House of Fun" rematch with Raven at Hard Justice on May 15, allegedly due to travel difficulties. Hardy's suspension was lifted on August 5, and he returned at Sacrifice approximately a week later, attacking Jeff Jarrett. He wrestled his first TNA match in four months at Unbreakable on September 11, losing to Bobby Roode following interference from Jarrett.[ Throughout October 2005, Hardy became embroiled in a feud with Abyss, Rhino and Sabu. The four way feud culminated in a Monster's Ball match at Bound for Glory on October 23, which Rhino won after delivering a second rope Rhino Driver to Hardy. In the course of the match, Hardy delivered a Swanton Bomb to Abyss from a height of approximately 17 ft 0 in (5.18 m). Later that night, Hardy competed in a ten-man battle royal for the number one contendership to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, which Rhino also won. At Genesis in November, Hardy lost to Monty Brown in another number one contender match. Hardy was scheduled to wrestle on the pre-show of Turning Point in December 2005, but once again no-showed the event, again citing traveling problems. Hardy was suspended as a result and did not appear on TNA television again. In March of 2006, Hardy appeared on several live events promoted by TNA in conjunction with Dave Hebner and the United Wrestling Federation. Return to World Wrestling Entertainment ECW (early 2006) On April 4, 2006, WWE announced that Hardy had re-signed with the company. In the following weeks, vignettes aired hyping his return on the April 18 episode of ECW. On the day of his return, Hardy received a push and defeated Alex Ash for the Television Championship when Krako interfered on his behalf. Shortly afterwards, ECW would close and Hardy was drafted to RAW, being stripped of the Television Championship in the process. D-Generation X (mid 2006) during his time with D-Generation X.]] Upon arriving on RAW, Hardy was quickly picked up by Triple H as a member of the reformed D-Generation X. He would get pushed as an integral part of the group, winning the Intercontinental Championship for a second time over Edge on the May 1 edition of RAW. He would also begin dating fellow DX member Ashley Massaro, and the two would appear in vignettes together for weeks. Ashley would capture the Women's Championship, and Triple H the WWE Championship and World Tag Team Championship with Shawn Michaels, splitting the whole of RAW's titles amongst themselves. Hardy would go on to the Intercontinental Championship to Seanyboy on July 10, and the group would start falling apart as new management came in. Main event status (late 2006-2007) With Triple H and Shawn Michaels leaving RAW over a dispute with Stone Cold Steve Austin, a power void was left in their absence. As their student, Hardy took it upon himself to fill in, and did so grandly when he defeated The Rock on the July 31 episode of RAW, winning his first WWE Championship. The Rock would rechallenge at SummerSlam, in a match both men had mastered: the ladder match. Hardy prevailed, and the following week he was drafted to SmackDown!, taking the WWE Championship with him. A new champion, Jeff found himself with a target on his back, as Raven, John Cena and The Undertaker all vied for a shot at his championship. Hardy defended the belt at Unforgiven, successfully retaining and cementing his status as a main eventer. Hardy was scheduled to defend the belt at No Mercy in another ladder match, but was goaded into defending the belt against Ric Flair on SmackDown. Hardy lost the belt, and Flair revealed his alliance with Triple H and the new Evolution. Hardy would take some time off, posting on his own website and in the forums of TheHardyShow.com that it was time off to heal, stemming from a bad fall taken in his match with Flair. Hardy would return at Cyber Sunday, defeating TJ Cage while also reuniting with Krako. Hardy would set about regaining the WWE Championship, which had been handed down from Ric Flair to Triple H. Due to Triple H's bad relationship with GM Devin Jacobs, Ric Flair was forced to defend the championship on Triple H's behalf. Hardy redeemed his earlier loss by defeating Flair, heading into Survivor Series with the belt. At Survivor Series, Hardy's old rival Edge reemerged, and the two competed in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs match for the WWE Championship. Edge won, and it would be some time before Hardy competed for a world title. Leading into Armageddon, Hardy entered a brief feud with Crypto Virus. He would win an over-the-top rope challenge at New Year's Revolution, earning him the right to choose his spot in the Royal Rumble. Despite entering at number thirty, he was eliminated twenty-eighth. Hardy would later appear on SmackDown!, verbally assaulting Shawn Michaels's reformed D-Generation X, citing that the team was never the same after he left. Hardy brought in newcomer Shraosha to challenge Michaels and X-Pac for the WWE Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania 23, but came up short. As punishment, Krako assaulted Hardy with a crowbar under the orders of Travis Angel. This storyline was put in place to allow Hardy to leave WWE to heal his injuries, including a neck injury. Hardy also had two herniated discs in his lower back and was suffering from Restless legs syndrome. Return to ECW (2007) Hardy returned at the 2007 Judgment Day as a part of the ECW brand, defeating David Styles. He would go on to win an ECW Championship match at One Night Stand by defeating Triple H and Edge. Hardy captured the belt for the first time by defeating Refugee Tim in a ladder match, although Tim would win the title back just two weeks later. Jeff would rechallenge at Vengeance: Night of Champions in an Odd Man Out match. Hardy would be pinned second which, due to the nature of Odd Man Out, made him the new Television Champion. He held the title until dropping it to Blaze on the August 12 episode of '"ECW''. Hardy would again take time off, citing nagging injuries. The Hardys reunion (2007) In August of 2007, promos for Hardy's return began airing. He finally made his in-ring return on SmackDown!, defeating Sold1er. In the weeks that followed, Hardy reunited with his brother Matt, the two capturing the WWE Tag Team Championship. They would hold the belts until SmackDown!'s infamous close, when both Hardys were released and the belts were vacated. Other media Hardy appeared on the February 7, 1999 episode of That '70s Show entitled "That Wrestling Show", along with Matt, as an uncredited wrestler. Hardy and Matt also appeared on Tough Enough in early 2001, talking to and wrestling the contestants. He appeared on the February 25, 2002 episode of Fear Factor competing against five other World Wrestling Federation wrestlers. He was eliminated in the first round. Hardy also appears on The Hardy Show, an internet web show which features the Hardys, Shannon Moore and many of their friends. In 2001, Hardy, Matt and Lita appeared in Rolling Stone magazine's 2001 Sports Hall of Fame issue. In 2003, Hardy and Matt, with the help of Michael Krugman, wrote and published their autobiography The Hardy Boyz: Exist 2 Inspire. As part of WWE, Hardy has appeared in several of their DVDs, including The Hardy Boyz: Leap of Faith (2001) and The Ladder Match (2007). He is also featured in the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling release Enigma: The Best of Jeff Hardy (2005) and Pro Wrestling's Ultimate Insiders: Hardy Boys – From the Backyard to the Big Time (2005). On April 29, 2008, WWE released "Twist of Fate: The Matt and Jeff Hardy Story". The DVD features footage of the brothers in OMEGA and WWE, and also briefly mentions Hardy's first run with TNA. Artisitic pursuits Hardy has an eclectic set of interests outside of wrestling. He calls his artistic side "The Imag-I-Nation". At one stage, Hardy constructed a 30-foot (9.1 m) statue of an "aluminummy" named "Neroameee" out of tin foil outside of his recording studio (a spray painted trailer). On another occasion, he created an artificial volcano in his front yard, which he then jumped over on his motocross dirtbike. On another occasion Hardy created a large sculpture of his brother Matt's hand signal "V1", which was seen on "The Hardy Show", an Internet web show which features both the Hardys, Shannon Moore and many of their friends. Hardy is also an artist and poet. Hardy taught himself how to play guitar and later bought a drum kit. In 2003, Hardy formed a band, Peroxwhy?gen, with members of the band Burnside 6, and Moore, who later left. He also converted a trailer into a recording studio. The band recorded two songs; One song was "September Day", a song Jeff wrote in reaction to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Rumors arose that Peroxwhy?gen split up in 2004 shortly after recording the second song, "Modest", which Hardy later used as his entrance music in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. On the official Peroxwhy?gen MySpace, however, the rumors were denounced. Currently, Peroxwhy?gen only has three members, Hardy, Jerry Krako and JR Merrill. Personal life He has a tattoo of roots that starts on his head, behind his ear, and finishes at his hand. He also has a few other signature designed tattoos, one of which, a dragon, he hid from his father. It was also the first tattoo he got in 1998. He later got tattoos of the Chinese symbols for "Peace" and "Health", as well as tattoos of fire and a wave. Hardy regards his tattoos as his "artistic impulses". Hardy is very good friends with Shannon Moore, who he has known since around 1987. He is also good friends with Marty Garner and Jason Arhndt. He regards Vanilla Ice as a big influence on him, and he was even nicknamed "Ice" by Scott Hall. Hardy met his girlfriend Beth Britt in 1999, shortly after the Hardy Boyz had won the WWF Tag Team Championship for the first time. Hardy and his brother Matt went to a club in Southern Pines, North Carolina, where Hardy met her. On March 15, 2008, it was reported that Hardy's house had burned to the ground in a fire. Hardy and his girlfriend were not home at the time, but his dog, Jack, was killed in the fire. It is believed that the fire was started by faulty electrical wiring. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' :* Reverse of Fate (Inverted facelock neckbreaker slam) :* Spine Line (Armlock cloverleaf) – OMEGA; used as a regular move in TNA :* Swanton Bomb / The Swanton (WWE/TNA) (High-angle senton bomb) :* Twist of Fate (Front facelock dropped either into a cutter – WWE/ TNA or a stunner – TNA; 2004–2006) *'Signature moves' :* Baseball slide :* Diving clothesline from off a barricade :* Double leg drop to the opponent's groin or midsection :* Hardyac Arrest (Rope aided corner dropkick) :* Mule kick :* Plancha :* Positioned at the top rope or on another ladder, Hardy performs a diving leg drop after leapfrogging over a ladder :* Sitout inverted suplex slam :* Sitout jawbreaker :* Whisper in the Wind (Turnbuckle climb into a rebounded corkscrew senton to a standing opponent) *'Managers' :* Gangrel :* Michael Hayes :* Lita :* Trish Stratus :* Terri *'Nicknames' :* "The Charismatic Enigma" (TNA / WWE) :* "The Extreme Enigma" (WWE) :* "The Legend Thriller" (WWE) :* "The Rainbow–Haired Warrior" (WWE) *'Entrance themes' :* "Loaded" by Zack Tempest (WWF/E; 1999–2003, 2006–2008) :* "Tourniquet" by Marilyn Manson (ROH; 2003) :* "Modest" by Peroxwhy?gen (TNA; 2004–2006, 2010) :* "No More Words" by Endeverafter (WWE; 2008–2009) Championships and accomplishments *'National Championship Wrestling' :* NCW Light Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *'New Dimension Wrestling' :* NDW Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'New Frontier Wrestling Association' :* NFWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'North East Wrestling' :* NEW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *'NWA 2000' :* NWA 2000 Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Hardy *'Organization of Modern Extreme Grappling Arts' :* OMEGA New Frontiers Championship (1 time) :* OMEGA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Hardy *'Pro Wrestling Illustrated' :* PWI Comeback of the Year (2007) :* PWI Match of the Year (2000) with Matt Hardy vs. The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian in a Triangle Ladder match at WrestleMania 2000 :* PWI Match of the Year (2001) with Matt Hardy vs. The Dudley Boyz and Edge and Christian in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at WrestleMania X-Seven :* PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2008 :* PWI Tag Team of the Year (2000) with Matt Hardy :* PWI ranked him #13 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2007 *'Universal Wrestling Association' :* UWA World Middleweight Championship (1 time) *'World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment' :* WCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Hardy :* WWE Championship (2 times) :* ECW Championship (1 time) :* WWE European Championship (1 time) :* WWF Hardcore Championship (3 times) :* WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (2 times) :* WWE Television Championship (2 times) :* WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1 time)39 :* WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Matt Hardy :* WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Matt Hardy :* Terri Invitational Tournament – with Matt Hardy :* Ninth Grand Slam Champion :* Eighteenth Triple Crown Champion *'Wrestling Observer Newsletter' :* Best Flying Wrestler (2000) :* Most Disgusting Promotional Tactic (2008) Hardy attacked in stairwell before Survivor Series Category:1977 births Category:D-Generation X Category:WWE champions Category:Intercontinental champions Category:Team Xtreme Category:Tag team champions Category:Wrestlers Category:WWE for Extreme Category:Total Nonstop Action Wrestling